Somali Americans, many who fled war, now seek elected office

By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON and DAVID SHARP
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Somali Americans who fled war and famine are seeking to join the political process in greater numbers during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections. Nearly a dozen Somali Americans are on the ballot in four states stretching from Maine to Washington state. Their growing political clout corresponds with growing population. Following an influx of Somalians fleeing the turmoil and arriving in the United States in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, their numbers now top 300,000. Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota was the first Somali American elected to Congress.